David Cameron is giving upbeat press conferences about how well the Tube system is working despite the influx of 100,000 Olympic visitors. Transport for London say passenger numbers on the Tube on Monday were up 4%.

The motto of the Games is "inspire a generation". However, not everyone is enthused. Londoners from the poorest parts of the city facing major upheavals from losing their homes, livelihoods and public spaces to the mercy of a few weeks of medal-chasing over the summer. They believe that the Olympics gave local councils and big business an excuse for a land grab - in which the community had little or no say. When they voice their opposition, they are hushed by the machinery of bureaucracy, the suppression of protest and the reality of losing the roofs over their heads. But their concerns are as real as the Games itself, which have received some £9.3bn in UK public funding. Community life will continue long after the athletes, the fans and the confetti have gone. I spent a week listening to and gathering the stories of Londoners shouting at the walls of an Olympic Jericho.

Photo: Leah Borromeo

Joe Alexander, 38, is in property maintenance. He lives on the Carpenters Road estate and is vice chair of the local campaign group Carpenters Against Regeneration Plans. I spent the day with Joe - a quiet, eloquent divorcee and father who moved to Stratford in London's East End in the hopes of starting a new life

Right from the outset, the notion of “legacy” has been predominant in articulating the value of hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games in East London, the argument being that the long-term regeneration benefits would ultimately prevail over the aggressive land restructuring, everyday disruption and unbalanced socio-economic shifts characteristic of the years leading up to the 2012 Games. Subsequent to the awarding of the 2012 Games, the emphasis placed on such explicit non-sporting benefits as added long-term values has been confirmed as one of the most decisive assets of the London bid, contributing a great deal to the final awarding decision by the IOC.[1] This legacy, we are told, is why the London 2012 Games will be “unique” and “different”, a pledge clearly spelled out through “five promises to set the scale of our ambition”:

To make the UK a world-leading sporting nation

To transform the heart of East London

To inspire a generation of young people

To make the Olympic Park a blueprint for sustainable living

To demonstrate the UK is a creative, inclusive and welcoming
place to live in, visit and for business.[2]

Although the national dimension of these ambitions is clearly emphasised, a more specific focus is placed on “transforming the heart of East London”, to “create a well-planned and well-managed environment in and around the Olympic Park which will attract business investment and promote recreational and cultural use for years to come”.[3]

A number of people have asked me to clarify what impact Olympic-specific legislation may have on local people and anyone promoting protests or making political statements during this summer’s Games. Here is a short guide.

Daly Courtyard from outside Community Centre after closure of Clays Lane Estate

ResonanceFM Radio marked the day with a broadcast of a series of talks and walks with local people from 2007 to be followed by Against the Olympic Myth: a Memorial to Clays Lane in three broadcasts on Tuesday 24th, Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th July all at 10am. This will be followed by a programme of events - 'Clays Lane Archive' - put together by Adelita Husni-Bey, starting on 11th August until 19th, at Supplement Gallery and Bethnal Green Library.

Following the refusal of the ODA to fulfil its promise of an open day for children from the Leyton Marsh community as punishment (recording 1.21mins) because the community dared to protest against its behaviour Carl Miller, British Olympic basketball athlete, who performed in the 1988 and 1992 Games, has stepped in to do what the mean spirited ODA has failed to do. On Monday 23rd July he will play street basketball with local children and young people! Save Leyton Marsh write on their blog

He agrees with us that local young people should have an open day at the basketball facility and that the ODA should improve local basketball facilities for lasting legacy for the area.